Actually, I do mind if I do. I mind so much, I am nearly out of my mind over the news that Portland has been accepted as one of thirty-two cities to put on the Listen To Your Mother show this coming May 2014.

And, as the cheeky title of my post may imply, I'M GOING TO BE THE DIRECTOR! Aw geez, sorry. I didn't mean to holler. I've known about this for a little while but it was a secret until today. Today, Ann Imig, the mother of Listen To Your Mother, gave the go ahead to "sing your news from the bloggy mountain-tops..." But I'm so excited, my singing came out all yelly. Better for you, actually. I carry a tune about as well as I can carry a well oiled pig. (Excitement also seems to influence me to make untested claims relating to the transport of farm animals and become more easily sidetracked than usual.)

Maybe I should break this out in headings, to keep me on point.

Listen To Your Mother...

Cities nationwide stage shows featuring live readings of essays. Essays regarding mothering. Any part of it. All parts of it. The stories are magnificent. The shows go on within two weeks of Mother's Day. They are filmed and fed into one site, accessible online for all to see, forever records of the voices speaking out with humor and heart to honor the significance of motherhood.

Each show is produced and supported locally and each donates a portion of proceeds to a local non-profit supporting women and children.

The Listen To Your Mother website gives it to you in much better detail. Go there and read the FAQs. But come back, please, because I'm not quite finished here. And then, go there again and start watching videos of past shows. See why I signed up to direct? Bossy.

Portland...

In case you've never seen Portlandia...Portland, Oregon is the epitome of a strong-sense-of-community, pro-local, hand-crafted, home-grown, of-the-arts city. Everyone already knows each other here. Strangers strike up conversations for the first time as though they’ve always been friends. We share our stories. We are freaks for art. We are all over live theater. Listen To Your Mother is just the thing for us.

Partner...

Fear not, I have one! Listen To Your Mother: Portland, will be most spectacularly produced by Kelli Martinelli. Kelli and I, unknown to one another at the time, separately sent requests into the show as soon as the call went out for new city applications. We were put in touch with each other to explore the potential for partnership. Within seconds of our first meeting, it was clear to us that we were just the match to make this happen. You might want to stand back a little, we are about to explode.

Tribe...

The very unique thing about Listen To Your Mother, is that it is both local and national. Individual cities tap in on their own level and then collect and connect as a whole. Right now, there are thirty-two teams of amazing women, building their shows separately and together, under Ann Imig's guidance. I'm about to get to know these ladies, right up close, as we venture on our joint mission to let motherhood speak out loud.

Thank you, Ann, Kelli, Melisa, and everyone else I'm about to adore. This is awesome.

I am so thrilled to see LTYM come to Oregon! I was the director/producer in NW Indiana for 2 years and recently moved to the Oregon Coast (I'm in Bandon and might bring it here someday!) but hope to bring a caravan of friends to your show! WELCOME TO LTYM!!

Floors upon floors upon buildings of set workshops, props and costume departments. All the millions of details that must line up and fade into the background of an historically authentic representation in storytelling. From underwear to home decor.